A fledgling Oakland, California-based company called VizzyMotion aims to revolutionize motion arts training by building an application that leverages the latest in motion capture and 3D technology. To finance further development, the startup has just launched a project on Kickstarter.
Built for beginners and experienced martial arts and yoga practitioners alike, VizzyMotion’s mission is to offer anyone with an Internet connection a way to nail the motions they want to learn in a fun and interactive way.
Initially, VizzyMotion plans to offer its application for Web and mobile devices for learning yoga and Eskrima, a martial art from the Philippines, in June 2013. In time, the young company hopes to offer a way broader range of sports, dance, workouts, and martial arts.
Here’s how it works: the VizzyMotion team records experts in their fields performing precise movements using nifty motion capture technologies, after which the motions are transferred to animated characters.
Users can then see them online and adjust speed and audio according to their needs. The app also allows users to zoom in, change the angle of the character, and even view skeletal and muscular systems.
VizzyMotion founder and CEO Oliver Moore, a 3D animator and self-described martial arts aficionado, says he came up with the idea after watching his students struggle to learn basic techniques.
You can give it a whirl here if you wish.
VizzyMotion believes that, in the near future, students will also be able to record their own movements via motion-sensing devices so that instructors they’ve never actually met can evaluate them and provide personalized feedback.
Through Kickstarter, VizzyMotion aims to raise $30,000 in 30 days. I have a feeling it won’t have too much trouble reaching that goal.
Top image credit: Thinkstock
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